Liam and his friend Max are playing in their neighborhood when the call of a bird leads them out into a field beyond their town. There, they find a baby lying alone atop a pile of stones—with a note pinned to her clothing. Mystified, Liam brings the baby home to his parents. They agree to take her in, but police searches turn up no sign of the baby’s parents. Finally they must surrender the baby to a foster family, who name her Allison. Visiting her in Northumberland, Liam meets Oliver, a foster son from Liberia who claims to be a refugee from the war there, and Crystal, a foster daughter. When Liam’s parents decide to adopt Allison, Crystal and Oliver are invited to her christening. There, Oliver tells Liam about how he will be slaughtered if he is sent back to Liberia. The next time Liam sees Crystal, it is when she and Oliver have run away from their foster homes, desperate to keep Oliver from being sent back to Liberia. In a cave where the two are hiding, Liam learns the truth behind Oliver’s dark past—and is forced to ponder what all children are capable of.

My Thoughts

Liam, the main character of the story, is on the fence of some upcoming change of his life, as he feels less and less in common with his friend Max, not to mention his old friend, Nattrass.Liam and Max find an abandoned baby in their neighborhood. This event is the catalyst which sets events in motion in Liam’s life.

Jackdaw Summer is a kind of coming-of-age novel, dealing with friendship, loosening the bond between friends, changing their attitudes and behaviors.

Parts which seem irrelevant nicely balance the tension of the story, and make it consumable by relatively young children as well. There is a mystery, but not that big, and certain things are never revealed. But it’s okay, as neither the plot, nor the characters are really important in ‘Jackdaw Summer’, even though the characters are debatable in their complexity.

The novel is about fundamental moral issues, such as the essence of good and bad, truth and lies, morality, violence, responsibility, the consequences of your decisions. The novel also deals with political themes, such as war and terrorism. Furthermore, it presents different levels of emotional intelligence of children at the same age, and their different attitudetoward the ideas mentioned above.

Most remarkable about this novel is that it is not didactic. The unbiased approach of the author leaves you free space to think about the characters, the events, and the ideas provoked by their actions and thoughts. You are allowed to decide if you agree or disagree. Almond doesn’t influence the reader at all.

Jackdaw Summer is a provocative story, written in a compact, but imaginative style. Highly recommended!

______________________________________________________________Blurb

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with “freaky” scars on her arms. Even Echo can’t remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.

But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo’s world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she’ll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

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I’d lost and I’d won. I’d lost the dreams I had, but won new dreams.

My Review

It was way too long. I have to admit that I skipped several descriptive parts, and focused on only dialogues. Maybe I’m too old to enjoy wholeheartedly Young Adult fiction…

Anyway, the novel tries to represent serious values and moral issues, such as love, trust, respect, forgiveness, sacrifice, and selflessness. It also deals with grief, drug use, hasty sex, child abuse and abandonment. But the writing is elongated, repetitive, over-explained. An example:

A cold wind swept across the patio, causing me to shiver. Noah shrugged off his black leather jacket and tossed it around my shoulders. “How are you going to tutor me if you get fucking pneumonia?”I cocked an eyebrow. What an odd combination of romantic gesture and horribly crude wording.

The last sentence is supposed to be written by reviewers after reading it and noticing that contrast between inner kindness and behavior presented outwards. Not by the author. I would prefer being let to have the pleasure to enjoy the writing without being said what I should think. Is this didactic writing really necessary for younger readers to understand the message of the story?

Both the main characters and the secondary characters are likeable. Echo and Noah both had serious traumas, and I really felt for them.

Echo’s character develops nicely throughout the story. At the beginning her behavior is very self-oriented, her fear of gossip is exaggerated. But her attitude changes by the end of the story. She is able to forgive her father and Ashley, but she easily oversteps the love she feels for her mother. The main part of the story is about that how Echo loves her mother, misses her mother, adores her mother, etc. And after only a short conversation, Echo determines that her mother doesn’t deserve her love any more.

Noah’s character is the typical bad boy: sweet, charming, but clichéd, using over-the-top annoying endearments for Echo (baby, siren, etc.).

“One month before school lets out—she disappears.” Beth’s eyes widened and she spread her fingers out like a magician doing a trick.Isaiah nodded. “Poof.”“Gone,” added Beth.“Vanished,” said Isaiah.“Lost.”“Evaporated.”“Gone,” repeated Beth. Her eyes glazed over and she stared down at her toes.“Beth,” I prodded.She blinked. “What?”“The story.” This was the problem with hanging out with stoners. “Echo. Continue.”“Oh, yeah, so she disappeared,” said Beth.“Poof,” added Isaiah.Not this again. “I got it. Moving along.”

Noah has great moments of course, but a very important thing is missing: what about his guilt about his parents’ death? Is it evaporated? Vanished? Gone? Poof?

All in all, it is definitely not for me – of course I’m not the target audience – but I can imagine it could be an enjoyable book for YA readers.

______________________________________________________________Blurb

then.When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their loved moved from curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.

now.That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be killed in one final, spectacular hunt.

forever.Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present, and the future are about to collide in one pure moment – a moment of death or life, farewell or forever.
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There was something vaguely
glorious about having a purpose again.

My Thoughts

I have mixed feelings about Forever. The plot is pretty awesome (the second half), and I loveCole and Isabel together, but I’m disappointed with the storyline of Sam and Grace.

Maggie Stiefvater’s style is still as amazing in Forever as it was in Shiver and Linger. The story-building and the alternating viewpoints are delineated professionally.

The first half of the novel basically gives a sitrep of the characters and is about waiting for Grace to change back from wolf into human.
In the second half a serious threat comes up and the story speeds up: it is filled with danger, thrilling action, tension, uncertainty, unpredictability, sacrifices, and losses.

But the ending!! Readers are left in doubt – I really, really hate it! I want a proof that everyone is happy!

Cole & IsabelCole is unsettling, impudent, confident, and brilliant. And more than this! He overshines everyone. I loved his charisma, and I was amazed by his development, his research, and discoveries. .
He discovers not only certain things about being a wolf, but important things about being Cole.

I had thought there’d be nothing left of me, once you took away the pounding bass of NARKOTIKA and the screams of a few hundred thousand fans and a calendar black with tour dates. But here it was, months later, and it turned out that there was fresh skin underneath the scab I’d picked off.

I loved his bitter humor, self-irony, and courage. He gambles with his own body, own life to save the others.

I’d planned out a few experiments that didn’t require a lab — just luck, my body, and some balls.

Isabel. She is practical and without hesitation. But she is still building walls around herself. It is very difficult for her to open up. The only one she feels comfortable with is Cole.

Sam & Grace.Sam is incapable to exist without Grace. His life without her is about waiting, thinking, dreaming, and waiting again. Sam and Grace’s love is said to be beautiful, limitless, and strong, but sadly I couldn’t feel it. There is a distance between them, some kind of alienation, deep melancholy.
Sam always hesitates, and hates confrontation.

Sam about himself:There was something in my expression that I didn’t recognize, something at once helpless and failing; whoever this Sam was, I didn’t know him.

He is often helpless, tends to give up. At the end of the story, he agrees to risk something very important to save his pack. I understand it, and I feel sympathy for him, but he merely does what he is told by Cole. Furthermore, it is not clear if his sacrifice is temporary or permanent, and I hate not knowing the long-term consequences of his deed.